Recently there has been a large social media push within the world of marketing. Companies are flocking to Facebook and Twitter trying to interact with their customers where they reside, virtually speaking. They are doing this and doing it for great reasons. They can provide customer service, repair damaged company image, gain useful knowledge about products they intend to rollout, find out what products their clients want to see, etc, etc. However, there is a dark side to the benefit.
As an Analytics, SEO and PPC specialist, I am often confronted with measurement dilemmas. Facebook PPC is one of those dilemmas. In my trials and tribulations, I have discovered that the reporting on Facebook is not nearly robust enough to get accurate and in-depth information from people clicking on the ads. When a visitor encounters an ad, they have two options, clicking on the title of the ad or clicking the “Become a Fan” button (depending on the type of ad). When the user clicks the “Become a Fan” button, they are automatically registered as a fan of the respective fan page. However, if they click the ad title, they are taken to the fan page where they then have the option to fan the page or not. The company is charged for a click for either option the user chooses. Facebook does not distinguish between these two options.
Facebook "Fan" Ad
So let’s see, if someone were to click on the title of the ad, arrives on the fan page and then fans it, Facebook does register click. But if someone clicks on the title of the ad, arrives on the fan page and leaves, Facebook also registers this as a click. This is where the reporting becomes an issue. Organizations are charged for a click on the ad for both scenarios but Facebook does not differentiate the two. Thus a click on the ad does not equate to a new fan. This would normally be fine, but the only way to find out if a fan was added is by checking the wall on the fan page.
While conversions may be lost in any PPC campaign that is run, the reporting for most (if not all) sites gives a distinction between who converted and who didn’t. Facebook does not offer this distinction. In the digital world where everything can be measured, where is Facebook and why are they light years behind? When offering solutions for businesses to gain access to their consumers, wouldn’t you think Facebook would ensure that the metrics can be easily measured and relayed? This is the cutting edge of business-consumer interaction and yet we seem to be stuck in 2004. Facebook needs to get its act together especially when it is offering business solutions. And though the cost per click on Facebook is relatively low, the cost of a lack of knowledge is growing exponentially.
Wow, I haven’t used Facebook PPC yet–that’s really surprising! Such a simple but important element to be ignored. Hope Facebook is working on this.
Great insight. Have you inquired about the discrepancy with Facebook ad reps? I would be interested to hear their defense.